Wake Up
by feathers and snow
Summary: After a battle with a newly awakened Pitch, Jack is trapped in a place where his worst nightmares are coming to life. Back in reality, the Guardians desperately try to find a way to wake the Winter Spirit from a place he believes is real.


_**Hi Everyone! So this is my first shot at a Rise of the Guardians fic. I'm not sure how good it is, and it hasn't been through beta, but hopefully its okay :)**_

_****__Summary:_ After a battle with a newly awakened Pitch, Jack is trapped in a place where his worst nightmares are real. Back in reality, the Guardians desperately try to find a way to wake the Winter Spirit from a place he believes is real.

_**Rating: T for mild violence**  
_

_**Parings: Frostbite/Rainbow Snowcone**_

_**Please review!**_

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Jack flew backwards, slashing his staff through the air as the Night Mare missed him by inches. A quick smile flashed across his face as it froze. But it was gone a moment later when his gaze refocused and he took stock of the sheer amount of Night Mares. It had been day time when they had been ambushed, but he couldn't even see the sky. Dark sand swirled in a whirlwind around him, obscuring everything but the snow beneath his feet. Jack gripped his staff, raising it as if to ward off the Night Mares. Their glowing eyes watched him, waiting for an opening.

He ducked as a boomerang soured overhead. Bunnymund caught it and crouched down in the snow, his back pressed against the Winter Spirit's in a defensive stance. 'See anyone yet, mate?'

Jack shook his head, barely hearing the Easter Bunny over the cacophony of the Night Mares. The two guardians had been separated from the others, and they were becoming increasingly worried for their friend's safety.

Bunny's nose twitched as the remains of a Night Mare hit him in the face, the course sand stinging his sensitive nose. He glanced up as his ears picked up the sound of a whip whistling through the air. High above them, nearly obscured by the dark sand, he could just make out a flash of golden sand. 'Sandy's up there!'

Jack looked up, craning his neck back. He saw the gold sand and bit his lip, worried for the little man. The last time this had happened, months ago, Sandy had been overcome by the Night Mares.

Without warning, North burst out of the Night Mares, twirling his swords above his head and shouting a battle cry. The sight was a welcoming one. North joined them, facing outwards with his swords raised high overhead, his eyes darting from left to right. Jack breathed a little easier, knowing that the Guardian of Wonder was with them, but his chest tightened as fear numbed his hands. There was someone missing, and he hadn't seen her. He tried to ignore the feeling of dread in his stomach. He stared hard at the nightmares, trying to catch a glimpse of Tooth among the swirling sand.

'Bunny, you take the ones on right, Jack, you take the ones on left. I'll take middle!' North's gleaming swords flashed as the Night Mares circled the trio, waiting for an opening.

Through the bodies of the Night Mares, Jack saw a flash of blue and green feathers, and heard the faint melodic hum that he had become so familiar with. Without thinking about what he was doing, the Spirit of Winter flew forwards, cutting a way through the Night Mares as he attempted to get to the Tooth Fairy, ignoring his friend's cries of warning.

The Night Mares surged forwards, cutting off his escape route and trapping him in a tight circle. 'Tooth!' Jack spun around, twirling his staff above his head in an attempt to ward off the nightmares. His heart pounded erratically against his ribs as adrenaline coursed through his veins. He could see nothing but black sand and glowing eyes. He crouched in the churned snow, shooting frost from the tip of his staff as he tried to catch a glimpse of the blue and green feathers he had seen not moments before. 'Tooth, where are you?!'

Perhaps it had been a bad idea to separate from the other three. But he had been so sure that he had seen Tooth, and there was no way that he had been going to leave her. Fear churned in his stomach, surging up into his chest at the thought at what might have become of the Guardian of Memories. On any other occasion, Jack would have said that she could take care of herself. But they had been caught off guard not far from North's palace, in the middle of a frozen wasteland. There were no children here to banish the Night Mares with their lack of fear. They were alone. And this time, Pitch wasn't out to destroy the children. This time, he wanted revenge, and he was going for the more direct way.

'Jack Frost, is that fear I detect?' The Bogeyman's voice seemed to come from ever where, surrounding him from all sides.

Jack gritted his teeth, his eyes darting everywhere in an attempt to catch sight of the Nightmare King. 'I'm not afraid of you!'

'Oh but you are afraid of something, Jack. You should have joined me when you had the chance. I can't help you now. You have so much more to lose now'. Jack thought he saw a figure high above him and he flung an explosion of snow and frost up into the sky. The Night Mares shied away from it, but Jack knew that he hadn't hit his target. Pitch laughed darkly. 'I thought you would have known better Jack. Love is weakness. It is merely a door that allows fear into your heart. And you are afraid, so very afraid of losing _her'._

'Jack!' Jack spun around, his bright blue eyes scanning the shifting sand frantically, desperately trying to find where the call had come from.

'You know nothing about it!' he screamed to the darkness, fury and fear boiling in his veins. How could Pitch know anything about it, when he didn't understand his feelings himself? All he knew was that Tooth was a part of his life, just as much as snow was a part of him. If he was honest with himself, he knew that what he felt was not just friendship towards the bubbly fairy. He felt his cheeks burning at the memory of what had happened at Christmas two weeks ago and shook his head forcefully. God they were in the middle of fighting for their lives, and he was thinking about the incident with the mistletoe!

'Oh I know more than you think, Jack. I know that you care for her, and that you don't know how to express that. 300 years of isolation hasn't really helped your social skills, has it?'

'Stop it! I don't care what you think!' Jack slashed his staff through the air, turning in a circle, as if he could physically stop the voice.

'Really? You should, you know. I can _sense _your fears. I know that you're terrified of losing her, that you don't want to tell her how you feel because you're afraid of what she will think. I know that you're terrified at the thought of being alone again, of going back to that life of loneliness and false happiness. And you know what? I can _make _it a reality!'

The words seemed to hit Jack like physical blows, the Bogeyman's voice cutting into him like knives. His movements slowed and he stilled, unable to move as icy cold fear flowed through him. What did he mean; he could make it a reality?

High above him, hidden among the bodies of his Night Mares, Pitch watched the spirit. A long spear like object formed in his hands. It was a little different from the one that had struck Sandy. And its purpose was entirely different too. The blade was blacker than night, as dark as the deepest corner of Pitch's mind. The edge was so sharp that it was almost too thin to see. The blade gleamed a faint silvery gold, dull, yet as bright as the moon. Pitch's smile gleamed in the darkness. 'Sweat dreams, Jack Frost'. He drew back his arm and hurled the spear towards the unsuspecting boy.

Jack heard the object whistling through the air. The sound was akin to a child's scream. The sound pierced his ear drums and he slapped his hands over his ears, the sound freezing him in place.

'Jack!' He heard the familiar voice call his name, but he couldn't move. This had never happened to him before. He felt as if his feet were frozen to the ground.

He felt pain explode along his back, and a soft object tackled him to the ground. The dark sand surged forwards, sweeping over him. It entered his mouth and eyes, blinding him and suffocating him. He could feel a warm weight pressed into his side, yet he couldn't move. The last thing he heard before the heard before the darkness consumed him was Pitch's terrifying laughter.

* * *

Jack's eyes flew open and he sat bolt upright, clutching his dry throat as he coughed the dark sand from his lungs. Once his breathing was back under control, he looked around. He was lying in the churned snow, under a dark sky. He stood slowly, cautious, as he realised that there was no moon in the sky. That couldn't be a good sign. Where was everyone? What had happened to the Night Mares? Where were his friends?

He turned around, attempting to catch a glimpse of someone. The landscape was a strange contrast, the snow too bright under his feet and the sky so dark it was almost like a void. He felt that if his feet left the ground the sky would swallow him up.

A strange noise came from behind him. He spun. His froze, his muscles seizing up as his heart missed a beat. His eyes widened and his breath hitched in fear. Not a metre away from him, Tooth was lying on her side, facing away from him. Her pale wings lay limp in the snow, and a number of teal feathers were scattered around her body. She wasn't moving.

At the back of his mind, there was a voice screaming at him that this couldn't be real, because she hadn't been there a moment before. But he didn't care. Jack ran forwards and fell to his knees beside her. Slowly, as if he was reluctant to touch her, he stretched out a hand and gripped Tooth's shoulder, rolling her over onto her back. He stared in horror at the sight before him. Tooth's eyes were half closed and her face was as pale as the snow behind her head. And protruding from the centre of her chest was a long dark spear.

'Tooth?' His voice was a whisper, reflecting the shock and disbelief he felt. _No, no, no, this can't be happening!_

Tooth coughed, her eyes fluttering open. She groaned and raised her hand, her fingers curling around the shaft of the spear. Jack grabbed her hand, stopping her. His fingers clutched at hers, shocked at how cold they felt. 'Don't…it might…' He vaguely remembered that it you weren't supposed to remove an object from a wound, because it was the only thing preventing it from bleeding.

As he spoke, the spear quivered. Tooth cried out, and the spear disintegrated. It dissolved into the air, the dark sand floating away on the wind. Blood instantly began to pour from the wound, seeping over her feathers and staining the snow around her. Jack's eyes went wide. 'No!' He dropped his staff and pressed his hands to her chest, trying to stop the flow of blood. 'Tooth, come on, keep your eyes open!'

Tooth coughed and whimpered at the pressure on her wound. 'Jack…I…it's no use…'

Jack shook his head furiously, tears blurring his vision. 'Don't say that! Just…hold on please…I can't lose you!' He looked around frantically, searching for something, or at least someone, who could help. But he was alone in a world of black and white, with Tooth dying at his feet. He closed his eyes and tilted his head back, tears escaping past his tightly clenched eyelids. He remembered Pitch's last words to him. _I can make it a reality. _And it was happening. It was happening just as his worst nightmares had played out. In his dreams, Tooth would die before he could tell her how he felt, before he could think of a way to save her.

His eyes flew open and he looked down at Tooth, tears spilling down his cheeks to land on her face. Her eyes were closed and her breathing was shallow. The once white snow was stained with her blood. His hands were covered in it, his hoody tainted with it, and the bright colours of her feathers were blocked out by the vivid red. 'Tooth, don't…you can't…it will be alright!' It had to be, she couldn't die, he couldn't lose her.

Tooth's eyes opened and he was shocked to see that her usually bright violet eyes were dull, almost lifeless. Jack swallowed thickly. 'Tooth…you…' his breath caught. 'You can't die…I…I love you'. He'd said it. He'd finally said it, and yet he felt like he had chosen the worst possible time.

Tooth's eyes widened and something dark flashed behind her eyes. But Jack's eyes were full of tears and he didn't see it. Tooth smiled, and a trickle of blood ran down her chin. At the sight, Jack started to cry, great hacking sobs that shook his whole body. Tears flowed down his face, falling like rain onto her fair skin. Tooth raised a shaky hand and touched his face with her delicate fingers. 'I…love you too, Jack'.

The little light left in her eyes extinguished like a snuffed candle flame. The hand on his cheek fell away as her body went limp in his arms. Jack closed his eyes as an almost physical pain ripped through his body. He had lost his friend as well as the woman he loved, and he had realised it too late.

As Jack's agonised cries filled the air the darkness seemed to come to life. The sky fell inwards, spinning around the boy. Jack could see the galloping Night Mares among the course dark sand, their glowing eyes mocking his tragedy. Jack bent over Tooth in a vain attempt to shield her body from further harm as the darkness whipped around him, stinging his face and hurting his eyes. Jack pressed his forehead to Tooth's, squeezing his eyes shut as the nightmares took him. 'I'm sorry, Tooth'. It was all his fault. If only he hadn't separated from the others. If only he had seen the spear coming. She had pushed him out of the way, and now she was dead.

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_**So, what do you think? should i continue?**_


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